“They had a good discussion about that [property] issue and they will be coming back at the end of the month with more to say about it,” Alexander Downer, the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, told reporters after the Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Demetris Christofias adjourned the talks.

“I have said all along that I very much hope that the two sides will be able to negotiate a conclusion, and we in the United Nations will do everything we reasonably can to try to help them achieve that objective,” Mr. Downer added.

The talks began in 2008 after the then leaders of the two communities committed themselves to working towards a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions.

The property aspect of the talks tries to resolve numerous complex claims between the two sides on property seized decades ago.